I Surrender – I Give You My All
Becca Card
October 6, 2019
Thursday night in the Situation Room something very special happened during worship. There is no doubt chains were broken, hearts were mended, healings took place before we “officially” started praying. The Spirit of Christ was already there as we entered the room, but as Bonnie was singing, “With Lifted Hands” something shifted, and the Presence of the Lord intensified and seemed to become stronger and stronger with each song. It truly seemed that you could just reach out and touch the hem of His garment. He was there to touch you and give you everything you needed.
As Bonnie was singing, “With Lifted Hands” in my mind’s eye I saw the words in the song,
“With every heartbeat in my chest Lord, I surrender all that I have.
The days yet to come, the days in the past. I’m giving You all I am with lifted hands, with lifted hands.”
The words “I surrender all” seemed to get larger and larger. Yahshua then took those words in His hand and went from person to person, held those words in front of them, took them by their hand and asked each one, “Will you truly surrender ALL to me? Will you lift Your hands and give me ALL that you have?”
After forum, I started thinking about the word “surrender.” Surrender is a common theme that we can see throughout scripture, so it must be pretty important right?
When I started looking for what I could find out about surrender, I came across a story where Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda who was one of the last Japanese born soldiers to surrender in World War II. He had been stationed in the Philippines when it was taken over by US forces in February 1945. Almost all his comrades were killed or captured, but he and several other men hid deep in the jungle. While the other evaders were eventually killed, Onoda held out for 29 years, dismissing every attempt to coax him out of the jungle.
His primary motivation for not surrendering was his total belief in the Japanese military code of discipline and honor. Because of this, he had been ordered by his superiors to never leave his post until he received a specific order enabling him to do so.
In 1974, the Japanese government sent his commanding officer to order Onoda to surrender. When Lieutenant Onoda stepped out of the jungle to accept the order, he was in his dress uniform and sword, with his rifle still in operating condition. Even in surrender he maintained his discipline and retained his honor.
This incredible story could be compared our walk with Yahweh. When we accept Yahshua as our Lord and Savior we realize that we have been purchased by His blood. As Christ-followers spending time with Him should be a priority. Too many times though we mix duty and honor to Yahshua with duty and honor to ourselves.
Sometimes we avoid being captured by Yahweh because it would mean surrendering areas of our life that we want to control. When we stop running and/or hiding then we can live the life that Yahweh has planned for us which He promises is His best (Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11).
Matthew 16:24 – 25 gives us very clear instructions on how to surrender to His loving authority: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Should I Surrender?
That would be a big YES!!! In this scripture in Matthew we are given four steps which can be challenging, but necessary to live a surrendered life.
- Be open to surrender.
- Deny yourself.
- Take up His Cross.
- Follow Yahshua.
The first step may seem like the hardest. He invites us “If anyone would come after me.” It is an open invitation to surrender to and walk through life with the creator of the universe, Yahweh! It sounds wonderful but it is hard to do because surrender goes against the grain of our stubbornness and our desire to be in control.
For a non-believer it means embracing Yahshua by faith, receiving his eternal, loving grace which enables a person to surrender in the first place. For believers our walk reveals that we have the greatest Advocate (1 John 2:1) and Friend that you will ever have in Yahshua (John 15:15). He has expectations that are for your good, and He lays out some very specific conditions to his disciples on how to follow.
Deny Yourself
Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (V24b)
Yahshua calls us to “deny ourselves” which means that we are to surrender our self-will and embrace his perfect will. It is daunting task to be sure and one that we cannot do on our own. (2 Timothy 1:7) Think about your life. Are you living it on your own terms? When you received Yahshua as Your Lord and Savior, you really said, “I surrender all to you, Lord.” Can you honestly say that you have done this in all areas of your life? Take a moment now and ask the Lord to reveal those areas in your life that you have failed to surrender to Him.
Take Up His Cross
The third thing Yahshua calls us to do to “take up His cross” (V24b). What does that mean?
As followers of Yahshua, we know that we were crucified with Christ on the cross (Galatians 2:20). Yahshua paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind. His crucifixion gives us the opportunity for open fellowship with Him for all eternity (1 John 1:3). It also means that we will share in the burden of carrying the cross (Matthew 10:38). We are to seek and follow Yahweh’s will, no matter the cost (I Thessalonians 4:3)
In today’s word, your relationship with Yahweh might cost you your family, your friends, your job and in some extreme cases even your life. Fortunately for us, Yahshua was the perfect model of surrender (John 5:30). Because He loved his Father and us so much, he surrendered His perfect and sinless life to Yahweh, making a way for us to enter into fellowship with Him. (Matthew 26:39)
Will you surrender to the self-will that hinders you from having a closer relationship with Yahshua? Or will you evade capture by Yahshua, holding tight to earthly things what will eventually fade away.
Follow Yahshua
The last thing Yahshua asks us to do is to “Follow Me.” For humans, following anyone is a difficult task – especially when it involves giving up any measure of control.
A perfect example of this is Yahshua inviting Andrew and Peter to follow Him. (Matthew 4:17 – 19). They left everything behind when they did. Yahshua also encouraged the rich, young ruler to follow Him (Luke 18:18 – 23), but at that time he refused to sell everything he owned and follow Yahshua.
It is tough to follow, because we sort of like the feeling of leading. Not many of us like to drive behind a slow-moving vehicle on a two-lane highway. As impatient as we are, it won’t be long until we pass it and enjoying the wide-open road ahead of us. How often do we feel that Yahweh is moving to slow, and we sprint ahead and leave Him behind? When we do this, we leave the safety of His will for the uncertainty of our own which usually doesn’t lead anywhere good. Being dedicated followers of Yahshua takes strength and wisdom but, more importantly, it requires us to surrender control of our lives once and for all to Him.
Will you deny yourself, take up His cross, and follow Him?
Are You Willing to Lose Your Life to Find Your Life?
It is worth thinking about: Is there any downside to not surrendering?
There are several scriptures where we see a clear warning for failing to surrender to Yahshua. (Luke 17:33/Matthew 16:25/Matthew 10:39/Mark 8:35/Luke 9:24/John 12:25)
Matthew 16:25 – For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses His life for my sake will find it.
Total surrender to Yahweh through faith in Yahshua is the most important decision a person can make.
Will you join with me today and lift up your hands to surrender all you have?
Are you ready to give Him control of your life?
“With every heartbeat in my chest Lord, I surrender all that I have with lifted hands.” \o/
